Commissioner Thomas Balmer, who missed that meeting, asked at the commission's Dec. 2 meeting that the proposed ordinance be revived, and this time it passed 5-1, with Vice Mayor Robert Britigan III, who opposed the ordinance at the Nov. 18 meeting, absent.

"I have no issue with (residents keeping) three chickens ... in the city of Parchment," Balmer said. "They are, in my opinion, much better than some (other) pets."

Commissioner Brian Sell continued his opposition to the ordinance amendment. Commissioner Jon Heasley voted in favor of moving the amendment to second reading at the commission's Dec. 16 meeting, but said he still was opposed to allowing chickens as pets in the city.

After the meeting, Heasley said he didn't have a copy of the proposed ordinance amendment with him and wanted to continue the discussion at second reading when he had the wording in front of him.

Mayor Robert Heasley, a proponent of the chicken ordinance, said after the meeting that with four supporters and three opponents on the commission, the debate is far from over.

He said the issue came up after complaints about chickens that Ann Post was keeping at her parents' Parchmount Avenue home. Post countered those complaints by presenting to the city the signatures of several residents supporting the keeping of chickens, the mayor said.

The proposed ordinance amendment has size and setback requirements for chicken coops and pens. City Manager Dennis Durham said some of the smaller lots in Parchment would preclude the homeowners from having chickens because of those restrictions.

The proposed ordinance amendment would ban roosters, and also has language banning the harboring of vicious or dangerous animals, which is aimed at dogs. In addition, it would limit the number of adult cats in one household to four.

Sell and Jon Heasley said they were in support of the cat and dog restrictions in the proposed ordinance amendment.

The cities of Kalamazoo and Portage have ordinances allowing chickens.